How to apostille Panamanian documents (even from abroad)

If you studied, married, worked or owned a company in Panama, sooner or later you may need one of those documents abroad. A US employer wants your Panamanian degree. A Canadian court wants a marriage certificate. A bank in Spain wants a power of attorney. In most countries, that document needs a Panamanian apostille. This guide explains how it works and what to do if you no longer live in Panama.

What an apostille is, in two sentences

An apostille is a certificate under the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. It confirms that the signature and seal on a public document are genuine, so the document is accepted in other member countries without further legalization.

The convention had 130 parties as of June 30, 2026, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and most of Latin America and Europe. If your destination country is not a party, you need consular legalization instead.

The apostille does not certify the content of the document. It certifies the official who signed it and the capacity in which they signed, as Panama’s Foreign Ministry explained to Panamá América.

The key rule: Panama apostilles Panamanian documents

This is the most common misunderstanding we see. An apostille is always issued by the country that issued the document.

• A Panamanian birth certificate, degree or police record is apostilled in Panama.
• A US document is apostilled in the US, by the authority the US designated.

So a US Secretary of State cannot apostille your Panamanian diploma, and Panama cannot apostille your Texas birth certificate. If you need to use a foreign document in Panama, see our Spanish guide on using foreign documents in Panama.

Who issues the apostille in Panama

There are two main authorities:

• The Foreign Ministry (MIRE), Authentication and Legalization Department. It handles most documents: university and school diplomas, Civil Registry certificates, Public Registry certificates, police records and notarized documents.
• The General Secretariat of the Supreme Court of Justice. It handles court documents. Since April 17, 2023, it issues electronic apostilles only, according to Panama’s notice to the Hague Conference.

How the online system works

Panama’s Foreign Ministry launched its electronic apostille on May 27, 2025, first through the government’s citizen portal. Its website now states that apostilles are processed at panamaconecta.gob.pa, the government’s online services portal. According to TVN, the process has four steps:

1. Register on the platform.
2. Upload the document.
3. Pay the fee and stamp duties online.
4. Receive the apostille by email, which officials said takes minutes.

Here is the catch for expats. At launch, the system was open only to holders of a Panamanian ID card (cédula). The Foreign Ministry announced that passport holders would get access later. If you never had a cédula, check whether you can register before you plan around it.

What it costs

The Foreign Ministry fee schedule sets B/.2 per apostille, plus a stamp duty that depends on the document. The balboa (B/.) is at par with the US dollar.

Document	Stamp, original	Stamp, certified copy
University diploma	Exempt	B/.6
University transcript (créditos)	B/.4	B/.4
School diploma	Exempt	B/.6
Civil Registry certificates (Tribunal Electoral)	B/.3	B/.3
Public Registry certificate	B/.2	B/.6
Documents from other government agencies	B/.6	B/.6
Police record (récord policivo)	B/.7	Not applicable
Notarized private document	B/.8	B/.8

So a birth certificate costs B/.5 in government fees, and a police record costs B/.9.

Why apostille requests get stuck

The apostille itself is fast. The delays happen before it.

The official’s signature is not on file

The Foreign Ministry only apostilles signatures it has on record. Its signature registry rules require the registered signature to match the document exactly. Institutions must report when an official changes role or leaves. A document signed by a new official who has not registered yet, or by one who is no longer on file, will not go through. The fix is a new document or an updated registry, both on the issuing office’s side.

The document lacks the right signature

The fee schedule lists the “fresh signature” each document needs: an original signature on that specific document. Some examples:

• University diploma: signed by the university’s Secretary General. See apostille a university degree.
• Police record: signed by an official of the DIJ, the investigative police. See apostille a police record.
• Private documents: signed by a Panamanian notary. See apostille a power of attorney.

A plain photocopy cannot be apostilled. A copy must be certified as a true copy of the original, with a fresh signature.

The document is too old for the receiving country

The apostille does not expire, but the receiving office may want a recent document. Ask before you order it, especially for police records and civil status certificates.

Your options if you live outside Panama

You have three realistic routes.

1. Do it yourself online

This works if you have a cédula, access to the platform and a document that is already apostille-ready. For a recent Civil Registry certificate, it can be quick.

2. Ask a relative or friend in Panama

This works for simple cases. Someone in Panama picks up the document, checks the signature and files the request. It gets harder when the issuing office needs your authorization, or when you need several documents from different offices.

3. Hire a local agent

This is the route most of our clients abroad take. It makes sense when:

• You have no cédula or cannot access the platform.
• The document has to be requested first, for example a new certified transcript or police record.
• You need several documents for one process, like a visa or a degree recognition.
• You have a deadline set by an employer, a university or an immigration office.

In that case, the work is mostly before the apostille. Someone has to get the right document, with the right signature, in the right order.

How we handle it

At Tramita Todo, we have handled paperwork in Panama since 2008, from our office in Obarrio, Panama City. For clients outside Panama, we review your document by WhatsApp or email, request what is missing from the issuing office, file the apostille and send you the result.

Our fee for clients abroad starts at US$75 per document, plus government fees and shipping. If you are in Panama, it starts at US$50 per document, plus government fees. We confirm the amount once we see your case.

See what is included on our page on apostilles for clients abroad, or the general Panama apostille page. You can also message us on WhatsApp with the document type and the country where you will use it.